Did Canada put the wrong maple leaf on its money?

By AUBREY COHEN, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Published 10:43 pm, Wednesday, January 23, 2013

In 2011, the Bank of Canada rolled out polymer bills, which it touted as being more secure, durable and easy to handle.

Photo: Bank Of Canada

In 2011, the Bank of Canada rolled out polymer bills, which it...

Here's the reverse side of the new $20 bill.

Photo: Bank Of Canada

Here's the reverse side of the new $20 bill.

A close-up of the offending leaf.

Photo: Bank Of Canada

A close-up of the offending leaf.

Here are some more-traditional leaves on the bill.

Photo: Bank Of Canada

Here are some more-traditional leaves on the bill.

A Norway Maple leaf in autumn.

Photo: DEA / A. DAGLI ORTI, De Agostini/Getty Images

A Norway Maple leaf in autumn.

A sugar maple leaf in autumn.

Photo: Drake Fleege, Drake Fleege/Green Stock Media

A sugar maple leaf in autumn.

Triathlete Simon Whitfield, of British Columbia, gazes up as he holds the Canadian flag after he was named the official flag bearer for the London Olympics during a ceremony Thursday, July 12, 2012, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Photo: AP

Triathlete Simon Whitfield, of British Columbia, gazes up as he...

The Bank of Canada was founded in 1934 issued its first bank notes on March 11, 1935. The $20 bill featured then Princess Elizabeth.

Photo: Bank Of Canada

The Bank of Canada was founded in 1934 issued its first bank notes...

The pink reverse side of the $20 bill features an allegory to agriculture, with a kneeling male presenting the produce of the field to a female agricultural figure.

Photo: Bank Of Canada

The pink reverse side of the $20 bill features an allegory to...

Two years after creating its first bank notes, the Bank of Canada created news ones in response to a law requiring bilingual bills. The resulting 1937 $20 bill features King George VI.

Photo: Bank Of Canada

Two years after creating its first bank notes, the Bank of Canada...

The reverse side of the bill kept the agricultural theme of its predecessor.

Photo: Bank Of Canada

The reverse side of the bill kept the agricultural theme of its...

Elizabeth became queen in 1952. Two years later, the Bank of Canada produced the first bills featuring her as queen. Here's the 1954 $20 bill. "The notes caused quite a controversy because, in the engraving of the portrait, an area of the Queen's hair gave the illusion of a grinning devil," according to the Bank of Canada. "Modifications to the printing plates for all denominations were made in 1956 to exorcise the demon!" This series of bills is commonly called "Devil's Head."

Photo: Bank Of Canada

Elizabeth became queen in 1952. Two years later, the Bank of Canada...

The reverse side of this bill went for woods in winter.

Photo: Bank Of Canada

The reverse side of this bill went for woods in winter.

The Bank of Canada released this series starting in 1969, in response to growing concerns about counterfeiting. They feature multicoloured tints beneath a dominant color.

Photo: Bank Of Canada

The Bank of Canada released this series starting in 1969, in...

The back was less colorful, but more scenic.

Photo: Bank Of Canada

The back was less colorful, but more scenic.

The "Birds of Canada" series was designed to counter advancements in color copying. It included a square, metallic patch that shifts from gold to green and back again, and larger portraits that made it easier to see the fine-line work in the face and hair.

Photo: Bank Of Canada

The "Birds of Canada" series was designed to counter advancements...

This was also the last series to include small green dots in the bank note paper. From the first Bank of Canada note issue in 1935 through to this series, bills had randomly distributed dots in the paper. From the 1954 series through to the 1986 series, the "planchettes" glowed under ultraviolet light.

Photo: Bank Of Canada

This was also the last series to include small green dots in the...

The "Canadian Journey" series, started in 2001, included new security measures and a tactile feature to help visually impaired people identify different denominations.

Photo: Bank Of Canada

The "Canadian Journey" series, started in 2001, included new...

The bill highlighted arts and culture, including artwork by Bill Reid, inspired by the Haida culture of the northwest coast, and an excerpt about the importance of arts and culture from "La montagne secrete," a novel by Canadian author Gabrielle Roy.

"Instead of a sugar maple leaf, one of the nation's best known symbols, the bills feature the Norway maple, a native of Europe that is so invasive in North America that some U.S. states have banned its sale and importation," the magazine wrote. "The leaf shown on the banknotes has five major lobes, unlike any maple tree native to Canada, while the sugar maple has just three lobes, says Julian Starr, a botanist at the University of Ottawa."

Even worse, the Norway maple turns yellow in autumn, rather than red, like the sugar maple and, of course, the leaf on Canada's flag.

What does the Bank of Canada have to say for itself?

Apparently, the leaf is a "stylized blend" of leaves, since no maple is native to the entire country, spokeswoman Julie Girard told New Scientist. "This way it's representative of all of Canada."

Click through the gallery above to see the new money, along with the offending leaf, and tour the history of Bank of Canada bills.